Daffodils For Luna
by lege et lacrima
Summary: Luna and Neville have had their ups and downs, but mostly downs... -One-sided Neville/Luna- -Legs-


So Lacrima wanted me to write some Neville/Luna (of Lovebottom, as I like to call it) for her, with the prompt "Professor Sprout's honking daffodils". Here it is! Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter. If I was JK Rowling, Neville and Luna would have married. EACH OTHER. D

* * *

"You'll want to keep away from those," Professor Neville Longbottom explained to his class, "those are Fanged Geraniums. Get too close and they'll bite your hand off!"

The first year class of Hufflepuffs gasped in horror. Neville loved the first class of every year. He would take the first years on a tour of the Greenhouse, and introduce them to the myriad fantastical plants they would encounter on their journey through Hogwarts. Since he had taken up the post at Hogwarts, he'd organised the Greenhouse alphabetically so he wouldn't forget where anything was, and it was definitely paying off.

"And here's the Flutterby Bush!"

The first years giggled in amusement. "It's like a bush full of butterflies!" one uncommonly small child pointed out, a look of gormless glee on his face.

"Yes, quite," Neville mumbled to himself. "Moving on, what we have here are the wonderful Honking Daffodils!"

The kids laughed again. "Do they honk?" asked the same little boy.

"Well, yes," Neville said, "hence the name..."

xxx

"_Luna!" Neville cried, dashing up the frosty path towards the Hogwarts castle, "Luna, wait!"_

_The willowy, blonde girl turned around slowly, smiling vacantly at Neville. "Hello, Neville," she said dreamily._

"_Luna, I got you these from the Greenhouse!"_

"_Oh!" Luna exclaimed in surprise, "Honking Daffodils! How lovely..."_

"_I know it isn't _quite_ spring, but, ah... seeing as it's... today... and all..."_

"_It is today, isn't it?"_

"_Well, uh... that is to say... it's _Valentine's _Day..."_

_Luna smiled, as though remembering something long-forgotten. "I suppose it must be."_

"_So, uh... would you like them?"_

"_I'd love them," Luna said happily, gratefully accepting the bunch of bedraggled flowers from Neville._

"_Uh... are you... are you busy... at all... this afternoon?" Neville stuttered._

_Luna smiled. "I am indeed! I'm busy compiling a report on Crumple-Horned Snorkacks for Care of Magical Creatures."_

"_Oh," Neville intoned, dejected. "Well, some other time, then?"_

"_Some other time for what?" Luna asked, confused._

xxx

"Ah, Professor Longbottom!" called a voice from across the corridor. "I was hoping to discuss something with you..."

"Oh, um, alright," Neville said, walking over to his colleague Professor Weasley, who was reading the newspaper and walking straight forward in a most dangerous manner. "Percy? What was it that you wanted to discuss?"

"Fascinating," the librarian muttered, looking up momentarily from his newspaper, "the Ministry have put a temporary embargo on any trade with Canada..."

"Really? You, uh... you want to discuss that with me?"

"Oh, no not at all. I just saw this article here," – he flicked back a couple of pages – "look here, didn't you know this young lady back in the day?"

"LUNA LOVEGOOD," the headline read, "AND THE QUEST FOR THE YELLOW-EYED NARGLE"

It was a small headline in the corner at the bottom of one of the crammed broadsheet pages, and Neville was surprised that Percy had even noticed it.

"I did know her, yeah..." he muttered.

xxx

"_Luna! Merry Christmas," Neville called, as he encountered her in the Great Hall._

"_Oh, hello Neville," she said with a small smile._

"_So, you... uh... you seen all this Mistletoe? It's... it's everywhere, isn't it?"_

_Luna looked alarmed. "Mistletoe, everywhere? Oh, no..."_

"_Wh—what's the matter with that?"_

"_You watch out – everyone ought to be more careful – it could be infested with Nargles..."_

"_Nargles?"_

"_Oh, yes," Luna said gravely, oblivious to Neville's confused expression._

"_But, uh... Mistletoe sure is good for, uh... snogging under, isn't it?"_

_Luna looked at him like he was crazy. "You," she said, poking him in the chest, "you stay away from the Mistletoe. I don't want you getting hurt."_

_And as Luna walked off, Neville's heartbreak was eclipsed by her sentiments towards him, and he was left standing there blushing a deep red all over his face._

xxx

"Longbottom, I suppose you've heard the news?"

"Heard what news, Headmaster?" Neville asked sufficiently reverentially, trying not to seem like a bit of an idiot.

Professor Goldstein laughed. "That Luna Lovegood is to pay our school a visit! Rumour has it that Hogwarts is a hotbed of Yellow-Eyed Nargles..."

"Oh," Neville said simply.

"Always thought she was a bit of a nut, I did," the Headmaster said, "never could understand what her whole deal was. But a nice girl, nonetheless."

"She was indeed."

"So listen, when she gets here, make her feel welcome, yes? You're an old friend of hers. She'll appreciate having you on-side when everyone else is laughing behind her back."

Neville nodded. "Absolutely, sir. It would be my pleasure."

xxx

"_That loony Lovegood!" a Slytherin boy crowed, "did you _see_ her this morning? Poking around in Care of Magical Creatures looking for a 'Crumple-Horned Snorkack'!"_

_His friends laughed uproariously. "What a nutjob! What's she even doing in Ravenclaw?" one boy asked._

"_She should be in Hufflepuff with the rest of those pussies!" a girl cried, giggling._

"_Hey, you kids!" Neville called out, striding towards the Slytherins that he had overheard. He knew it was a risk, going up and telling off some Slytherins in a school dominated by their house, but he couldn't stand the love of his life being talked about in such a way. Besides, they were younger and smaller than he was. He could take them easily... maybe..._

"_Ooh, what does the stupid Gryffindor want?"_

"_You shut up about Luna Lovegood, do you hear me? She's not crazy, she's just an individual!"_

_The Slytherins laughed._

"_I'd get up and hex you," the ringleader said smoothly, "but it'd be a waste of my time."_

_His friends laughed, and Neville walked off in a huff, embarrassed._

xxx

It was Christmas, and Hogwarts was as full as usual. Most students had elected to stay over the holidays, as there would be a Yule Ball. They were buzzing around the Mistletoe-adorned corridors nattering about their robes or who they wanted to go with or how many couples they reckoned would be snogging by the end of the night.

And Luna Lovegood, the renowned carer of magical creatures, was coming to continue her search for the Yellow-Eyed Nargle. She was greeted by the entire staff at a staff meeting the night before the Ball.

"On behalf of the entire school," the Headmaster began, "I'd like to welcome you _back_ to Hogwarts, and extend our warmest wishes that you enjoy your stay here."

"You're too kind, Anthony," Luna said with that same vacant smile that she had always had. "I'm so very glad to be back here, you know. However, I'm afraid this is a visit of business, not pleasure."

As Luna continued her speech, various members of staff were trying their utmost not to laugh.

"As you may or may not have read in the Quibbler, and I believe even in the pages of the Daily Prophet, I am currently searching for the elusive Yellow-Eyed Nargle. As this school has a history of Nargle problems, I thought it would be necessary to search around here for these creatures."

She was met with a silence, which Professor Goldstein broke by saying "Professor Longbottom, would you show Ms Lovegood to her room?"

"Happily," Neville said, eager to escape the tense atmosphere.

xxx

_After he finished at Hogwarts, it was several years before Neville saw Luna again. He was taking a teaching course at the Ministry's Education Centre when he saw her in the lunchroom, talking to another young man._

_Neville had started talking to her, and they had gone out to the Leaky Cauldron for some drinks at the end of the day. Luna was staying there for a while whilst she was busy in London doing some work for a Beast Conservation group._

_They had a couple of drinks – well, Neville did – and later escorted Luna up to her room at the Leaky._

"_It's been fantastic seeing you again, Luna," he said with slightly slurred speech, "we should catch up more often..."_

"_We should indeed," Luna said with a smile._

"_I, uh... Luna, I think you're extraordinary," he blurted out._

_Luna's expression clouded. "Most people do," she said sadly, "but it's okay. I know I'm not ordinary, but..."_

"_No, Luna, you... you misunderstand me! I meant that in the best way possible! Absolutely... I... I..."_

_Luna smiled sadly. "You're drunk, Neville. Goodnight."_

_And with that she went into her room and closed the door softly behind her._

"_I... I love you!" Neville said through the wooden door, but Luna never heard him._

xxx

"Do you like what I've done with the Greenhouse?" Neville asked.

"I do indeed," Luna replied happily, "I particularly like the alphabetisation. It's very clever."

"So, um, the Misteltoe's right over here..."

"Fantastic," Luna said. This should be worth some good investigating."

He led Luna slowly down the narrow aisles of the Greenhouse, savouring every moment of her company. They strolled past the Abyssinian shrivelfig, the bouncing bulbs, the Devil's Snare, the Fanged Geraniums and the Flutterby bush, until Luna stopped suddenly.

"Oh," she said with some surprise, "honking daffodils!"

Neville smiled. "That's right, the students love them."

Luna stood for a few moments, looking dreamily at them.

"Do you remember?" Neville asked hesitantly. "I gave you some on Valentine's day in our fifth year."

"I do remember," Luna said, "of course I remember."

Seized by the moment, Neville took Luna's face in his hands and kissed her softly on the lips. When he pulled away, Luna looked strangely at him, wide-eyed, before pulling away from his grip.

"I should really look at the Mistletoe," she said softly.

xxx

_On the day of Luna's wedding – Neville was invited, of course – he couldn't help but wonder where he had gone wrong in his quest to win her love._

_She stood radiant among the flowers in the resplendent garden that she and her husband had chosen to hold the wedding in, the honking daffodils matching her long yellow hair._

_When the wedding was over, she walked out right past Neville, and he waved to her._

_Luna didn't notice, and she kept on walking._

* * *

Hope you liked it! Leave a review and let me know what you think~

- _Legs_


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